San Beda College’s gunslinger continued his hot-shooting in the three-point shootout of NCAA’s All-Star festivities.
AC Soberano was in a class of his own, knocking down long range bomb after bomb, en route to this year’s three-point shootout king, Friday afternoon.
“Last year, fourth o fifth lang ata ako nun,” the 22-year-old said. “Ginawang motivation ko talaga yun.”
Right from the opening round, the son of Tarlac City was the only one to make it to the 20 point mark, finishing the round with 23 points. Mapua’s Exe Biteng heated up late, sweeping the final rack for 17 points to book his place in the finals, while San Sebastian’s floor general RK Ilagan, the only NCAA student-athlete to shoot above 35 percent from distance, matched Biteng’s 17 point outing to book the final seat.
Arellano’s Zach Nicholls struggles from downtown continued in the competition, as he finished with just seven points. On the other hand, Wilson Baltazar missed the finals by just a bucket, finishing with 16 points.
“Shooting lang talaga everyday,” the Tarlac City native added. “Dinagdagan ko lang for today.”
In the finals, Ilagan went up first. He started off well, but fatigue set in, ending with 15 points. Biteng felt the effects of the pressure and fatigue of repetitive shooting, notching just 11 points.
Soberano, however, was in a league of his own. After tallying just five points in the first two racks, Soberano converted four of his five balls from the money rack. Just two points shy, the Tarlac City native tied Ilagan’s mark by the fourth rack, and went on for the kill in the final rack for a total of 20 points.
“Si RK talaga ine-expect ko manalo,” the Bedan added. “Ginawa ko lang talaga yung best ko.”
“Yung money ball rack talaga yung tinutukan ko. Kahit nagmintis [ng isa], naka-chamba naman nung finish.”
Last season, Letran’s Mark Cruz took the crown.
